This English version is a courtesy translation. The legally binding version is the German-language “Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen (AGB)”. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the German and English versions, the German version shall prevail.
These General Terms and Conditions (the “T&Cs”) govern the use of the offering and platform “Startup Selection”, as further described in Section 2 below and at www.startup-selection.ch (the “Website”), the purpose of which is to enhance, by means of a ranking, the comparability between different participants in the Swiss start‑up ecosystem (collectively, the “Ranking”).
The Ranking is operated by: Founders Hive, an association under Swiss law domiciled in Maur, Switzerland (CHE-492.272.181) (“Founders Hive” or the “Provider”). For the registered address, please refer to: https://zh.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-492.272.181.
These T&Cs apply to all users and participants in the Ranking (collectively, the “Participants”). By registering for or using the Ranking, Participants accept these T&Cs.
Startup Selection is a platform for the structured collection, evaluation, and publication of start‑ups, companies, and/or natural persons on the basis of defined criteria.
Participation in the Ranking is, in principle, free of charge. Only the use of the certification label pursuant to Section 7 is subject to a fee.
The Ranking comprises, in particular:
Participation in the Ranking requires the creation of a user account. Participants undertake to provide truthful, complete, and up‑to‑date information when registering.
Access credentials shall be treated as confidential. Participants are responsible for all activities which take place via their user account.
The Provider is entitled to suspend or delete user accounts without prior notice and with immediate effect in the event of breaches of these T&Cs or of any abusive use.
As part of the Ranking, Participants make available structured information regarding their organisation or person, in particular concerning function, activity, track record, qualification, and expertise within the Swiss start‑up ecosystem (the “Self‑Disclosure”).
Participants warrant and ensure that all information contained in the Self‑Disclosure shall, throughout the entire ranking process pursuant to Section 2, at all times be truthful, complete, not misleading, and lawful.
The Provider is not obliged to verify such information but may carry out plausibility checks. The Provider gives no warranty as to the quality and accuracy of the Self‑Disclosure (for the disclaimer of warranties, see Section 8.1).
The evaluation is carried out on the basis of the information provided by Participants in the Self‑Disclosure, feedback from third parties (in particular peer feedback), data from publicly accessible sources, and any further data collected or available. Such data is analysed, evaluated, and assessed by the Provider, the research partner, and the experts retained, in accordance with scientific and professional criteria. The principles set out in Section 2, together with the description of the methodology as published from time to time on the Website, shall be authoritative. The Provider reserves the right to amend or further develop the methodology as set out on the Website at any time.
Participants acknowledge and agree that the evaluation, classification, placement, as well as the decision concerning inclusion, non‑inclusion, or continued presence in the Ranking, shall lie within the sole and free discretion of the Provider and its partners described in Section 2.
Participants have no claim to participation, to a particular evaluation, placement, or inclusion in any ranking.
By participating, the Participant expressly consents that:
may be used, collected, evaluated, processed, and (pursuant to Section 6.2) published by the Provider and/or its partners pursuant to Section 2.
Participants grant the Provider a free, temporally and territorially unlimited right to use, edit, publish, and disseminate the data and content referred to in this Section 6.1.
The processing of personal data is governed by Section 9.
Publication shall take place, in particular:
Consent to publication is irrevocable.
Participants who qualify accordingly within the framework of the Ranking may acquire a certification label (the “Label”). Any use of the Label, in whatever form or for whatever purpose, is strictly prohibited without the prior conclusion of a corresponding licence agreement and the full payment of the agreed fees.
Upon acquisition of the Label, the Participant receives a revocable, non‑exclusive, non‑transferable, and non‑sublicensable licence to use the Label (the “Licence”). The Licence applies worldwide for the agreed term and exclusively in connection with the designation relating to the relevant Ranking.
The Licence is granted for a fixed term, agreed upon a case‑by‑case basis (typically one year). The term commences upon payment of the licence fee, but at the earliest upon the official publication of the Ranking. Upon expiry, the Licence terminates automatically without the need for any notice.
Use of the Label is permitted exclusively for communication and marketing purposes of the Participant who has acquired a Licence (the “Licensee”), in particular on:
In particular, the following uses are prohibited:
All rights in the Label, including any trademark rights, remain exclusively with the Provider or the respective rights holders. The Licence does not establish any rights beyond those expressly granted.
The Provider is entitled to review the use of the Label at any time. The Licencee shall, on request, provide information regarding such use. In the event of a breach, the Provider is entitled to prohibit the use of the Label and to require appropriate measures.
The Provider is entitled to revoke the Licence with immediate effect for good cause, in particular in the event of:
Upon termination or expiry of the Licence, the right to use the Label automatically lapses. The Licencee shall cease any use without delay and shall, where reasonable, adapt or remove the corresponding materials.
Any use beyond the expressly permitted purposes requires the prior written consent of the Provider, and may be made subject to additional conditions or fees.
The Provider gives no warranty or assurance, whether express or implied, regarding:
The Ranking and all related content serve for information purposes only, and constitute neither a recommendation nor a basis for decision‑making.
To the extent permitted by law, any liability of the Provider, its bodies, employees, auxiliary persons, and any third parties retained (in particular research partners and media partners) is excluded. This exclusion of liability applies, in particular, to:
In any event, any liability of the Provider — to the extent permitted by law — is limited to wilful misconduct and gross negligence.
The disclaimer of warranty pursuant to Section 8.1 applies, in particular, in respect of the data underlying the Ranking. In this regard, the Provider relies, among other things, on information provided by Participants (in particular in the Self‑Disclosure), on feedback from third parties, and on information from publicly accessible sources.
The Provider is not obliged to review, validate, or verify such data. Accordingly, the Provider gives no warranty or assurance that such data is correct, complete, up‑to‑date, or free from contradictions; in particular, the information underlying the Ranking may be inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading.
The Participant acknowledges that the Ranking is based on such a data set, and that any inaccuracies or incompleteness in the underlying data may influence the result of the Ranking, without giving rise to any liability or warranty on the part of the Provider.
The Participant undertakes, on first demand, to fully hold harmless the Provider as well as its bodies, employees, auxiliary persons, and any third parties retained (in particular research partners and media partners), and to indemnify them from all third‑party claims arising in connection with:
The indemnity shall include, in particular, the reasonable costs of legal defence.
The processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with the separate Privacy Notice, to which reference is hereby made.
These T&Cs, and all legal relationships arising out of or in connection therewith, shall be governed exclusively by substantive Swiss law, excluding its conflict‑of‑laws rules and the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG).
The exclusive place of jurisdiction for any disputes arising out of or in connection with these T&Cs is the City of Zurich (Zurich 1), Switzerland.
Should individual provisions of these T&Cs be or become wholly or partly invalid, void, or unenforceable, the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected. The relevant provision shall be replaced by an effective provision which approximates the economic purpose of the invalid provision as closely as possible.
The Provider is entitled to amend or supplement these T&Cs at any time. The current version is published on the Website. Amendments shall be deemed approved if the Participant continues to use the Ranking or the Website following their publication.
The Provider is entitled to transfer rights and obligations under these T&Cs in whole or in part to third parties. Any transfer by the Participant requires the prior written consent of the Provider.
Any waiver by the Provider of the assertion of a right or of any provision of these T&Cs shall apply only to the specific case in question and shall not constitute a waiver in respect of future or other cases.
The Provider shall not be liable for any non‑performance, or delay in the performance, of its obligations to the extent that such non‑performance or delay is due to events of force majeure, in particular natural events, epidemics, pandemics, strikes, official orders, or infrastructure failures.
These T&Cs constitute the entire agreement between the Provider and the Participant regarding the subject matter hereof, and supersede any prior agreements, arrangements, or assurances, whether made in writing or orally. This is without prejudice to any licence agreement pursuant to Section 7.
Where these T&Cs require written form, this is also satisfied by electronic form. Electronic form includes, in particular, communications by e‑mail and the conclusion or amendment of agreements by means of electronic signatures, including non‑qualified electronic signatures. Mandatory statutory formal requirements which require a stricter form remain reserved.
In the event of conflicts between these T&Cs and other contractual documents, these T&Cs shall prevail, unless expressly agreed otherwise.
These T&Cs have been drawn up in German. The English version is provided as a courtesy translation. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the German and English versions, the German version shall prevail.
T&C-Version 1.1 from 22.04.2026